Tibetan Buddhism

By: Jane Ryu & Jae Woo Jeong

Tibetan Buddhism, also called Lamaism, is a type found in Tibet and in the regions of the Himalayas. There are many stories regarding the founding of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasabhava, also called the lotus born because of his birth is known as the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. But another story is the founding of Tibetan Buddhism through the princess and queen of China during the reign of Son-chen-gam-po. They brought in Buddhism by combining the existing sorcery and traditions of Tibet and the ideals of Buddhism.

Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism. It refers to the teachers of Buddhism. In Tibet, the Dalai Lama would sometimes direct the government. There are currently fourteen Dalai Lama's that are recognized. Many of these Tibetan Buddhist leaders have been exiled from Tibet and have spread Buddhism in the western areas.

The fourteenth Dalai Lama, is a man of peace who considers himself as a simple monk. He has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the non-violent attitude toward the politics of Tibet. He is referred to as "His holiness". His nephew has been killed recently in Florida during a "walk for Tibet." The fourteenth Dalai Lama is currently in exile.

Vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan buddhism is known to revolve around three vehicles: Hinayan, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. The diamond vehicle is known and vajrayana. In Vajrayana scripture these three vehicles are refered to as the routes of enlightenment. These three vehicles are known to tibetan buddhism teachings as the quickest ways to achieve bodhisattvas, or achieving buddhahood.

4 Schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism consists of four schools.

Nyingma
The Nyingma school of Tibetan buddhism is founded by Padmasambhava, who is said to be the Lotus born and came to Tibet in 817. Padmasambhava believed that it was not the right time to reveal all teachings, so he hid these treasures in the forms of texts and images for the future generations. This tradition is referred to as the "treasure text tradition."

Kagyu
Kagyu is known to be founded by a being called the "Translator" The translator has had very harsh conditions in his life and came to a point in life when he thought of suicide when he attained buddhahood. It was founded around the 10th century. Kagyu is best known for their meditation called Mahamudra. This type of meditation is based on verbal empowerment.

Sakya
Sakya is known to be founded by one called Virupa, which means the ugly one who is known to have parted the Ganges River in the city of Varanasi. One named Gyelpo, who received the teachings of Virupa passed it on to his sons. His second son is known to have founded the second sect. Sakya was founded around the 11th century. It is referred to as “Grey Earth”

Gelug
Gelug is called the "yellow hat" or the “way of virtue’ sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Most of the Dalai Lamas come from this sect. The Gelupga traditions is said to come from the teachings of Lama Atisha which is no longer in existence. The Gelug school emphasizes monastic discipline and sound scholarship. Gelug was founded during the early fifteenth century.

Practices

Sky Burial

Sky Burial The sky burial is a type of cremation ritual common in tibetan buddhism. They believe that there is no need to preserve the body, because rebirth will happen. They simply allow other organisms, mainly birds to feed on the remains of the body. Mainly vultures will eat all parts of the body allowing the bones, the less edible parts to remain. People believe that they do this because most of Tibet is too hard to dig to make graves.

Temple
The Jokhang Temple is located in the center of Lhasa, Tibet. It was built in 642 and belongs to the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Barda Thodol
‘Barda Thodol’ is a book in Tibetan Buddhism that is called the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It has been translated into English and guides the dead between death and rebirth. The book basically suggests that when one is aware that they are freed from the body, he/she takes place in a number of phases, bardos, like a dream. The first bardo, is during the moment of death when a light is seen it is called the ‘dharmakaya’ and is the ‘clear light of the ultimate reality.’ The second bardo is said to last a couple of weeks and meets the wrathful deities. The third bardo is when the soul encounters the Lord of Death.

‘ Let virtue and goodness be perfected in every way’

Cham
The Cham is a dance that includes costumes and masks that include music played by monks through traditional instruments. It is said to be sacred music with healing chants. The ritual is said to be forbidden now.
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Meditation
Meditation is a very important part of Tibetan Buddhism. Practices include mahmudra, the six yogas of Naropa, and dzogchen. They have many hand gestures, called mudras, and chants called mantras. Tibetan Buddhists use many objects during rituals.